The present application relates to an insertion device for use with a plastic molding machine which inserts elements intended to be affixed to a plastic article being molded in a partible mold. It is specifically tailored for use with a blow mold and permits the affixing of a carpet or similar fabric to one side of the plastic article being blow molded and/or the affixing of mounting screws on the other side of the article being blow molded, all in precisely located positions, with the newly molded plastic effecting the bonding between the elements inserted and the blown article without use of adhesive.
The carpet or other fabric is carried on a pair of pins of a transfer arm from a position outside of the molding machine to a position between the open sections of a blow mold in which the final article is to be blown. The pins extend through vertical slits or elongated openings in the carpet. One of the mold halves has a pair of pins positioned to receive the carpet from the transfer arm pins. When the transfer arm is between the mold sections, the mold pins are positioned below and aligned vertically with the pins of the transfer arm. Upon movement of the transfer arm pins carrying the carpet toward the mold pins, the respective pins become overlapped so that the carpet is retained on the transfer arm pins while the mold pins, vertically aligned therewith and positioned therebelow, are caused to extend through the slits/openings of the carpet. The carpet is then pushed off of the transfer arm pins and permitted to drop a short distance to become supported on the mold pins.
The mold section opposing the mold section receiving the carpet is intended to receive threaded nuts to be molded in place on the side of the molded article opposite the carpet. The nuts are supported in a nest of a transfer arm. Each nest has a small magnet to assist in retaining the nuts in their respective nests. The mold section intended to receive the nuts has an outwardly extending pin to receive each nut. A significantly stronger magnet adjacent the pin near the mold face draws the nuts away from the smaller magnets adjacent the nests of the transfer arm. The transfer arm has a bushing positioned to receive an alignment pin extending outwardly from the mold section to ensure proper positioning as the arm carrying the nuts is moved toward the mold section.